Overall Member Rating

Overall---Very good!

My wife and have have 20+ cruises, Diamond on RCI. Have been on all size RCI ships; the Allure prior to this cruise. Last was on the Jewel in 2005. The ship's condition is still very good. If you want to look for something worn or rusted, you probably could find a spot. But still very well cared for, saw workers sanding and painting.

Clean overall. We did not have any problems in the room or other areas. Stateroom attendant was friendly, he had the room done each time we left and ready when we returned ( it helps to put out the "please make room up" card in the door slot). We hate coming back and the room is not done! We tipped him the first day and had ice, extra wash clothes every day. We also pre pay gratuities.

Embarkation---flew in that day .arrived 1220pm. Waited for luggage, , taxi to ship ($19+2+5+tip=$31 ) ( We had 5 bags--a dollar per bag). Once there , on the ship as fast as you can go through security, get seapasses On the ship in 15 minutes. Room ready, More
dropped off bags and to Windjammer, was not crowded at 140pm.

Dining room---We have done Chops, Portofino, Giovanni's, 150 Park, etc. etc. all before. We eat out at Longhorn's, Red Lobster, other sit down restaurants at home. Have done a bunch of 5 stars over the years (Victoria & Alberts at WDW is excellent)...our joke is the higher the price of the meal....more likely to get heartburn/sick later!! That said --we ate every night in the MDR and found the food good to very good. The duck on day 2 was outstanding...I heard others say the same. I really liked the lamb and our lobsters were good. Sure, a few things we did not like, but get something else. Service was a little hectic the first night, but our waiter/asst. waiter did great after that. Had wife's diet coke ready, brought her two at a time. We had escargot every night (yay!) We usually get app, salad, soup, escargot, then the entrée and desert. Our head waiter checked in on us a few times...some cruises they show up last night!

We did not do any excursions....had been to all places but Martinique before. Usually laid out by pool 8 to 1130 then lunch ,then walked off ship for awhile, then back. We had no problem getting pool chairs any day when in port....but the last day was a sea day and people were out at 615-630 already lining up towels on chairs. We enjoyed watching a few arguments when RCI employees took towels/items off chairs when no one showed up for an hour or longer!

Entertainment--did not attend much..we were on the cruise to relax,rest and were generally up early and to bed by 9-10.... watched a few movies / saw some NCAA ball games on TV. I heard the comedian 1st night was good. Saw the tail end of some singers...all were ok. Carly, the cruise director was a bundle of energy and saw her around. Very personable.

Other random comments---Very few kids on the ship. Seaview Café was a hidden gem to eat , but never open before 230pm on port days , then opened at noon on day at sea and busy. Internet slow as mud.We had 60 free minutes being Diamond and took half of it to connect and get off. We did not do the premium drink package. Getting off the ship, we spoke with a younger couple ( late 20's)...they had bought the package and said they could not drink enough to justify it. We do a drink or so by the pool, but there are numerous parties--Meet the Captain, Welcome Back Crown & Anchor members, Top Tier event , plus there is a nightly Diamond event that gets free wine, champagne, etc.. So we have ample complimentary drinks and do not need a drink package. Being Loyal to Royal pays off!! Guest relations were very helpful to us with any question. A tip---book next cruise onboard for good rate and On Board credit! It can even be changed once you are home--I had to move ours to a different date.

Overall-we enjoyed the cruise...but we did what we wanted ( we are retired, early 60's). The smaller ship was nice to get around..great for port intensive trips. When we go with family, grandkids, we will do the bigger ships with all the activities. But we loved the Jewel in 2005 and still enjoyed the ship years later! Less

Cabin review: 9074

Cabin was a balcony...small bathroom with shower....closet held all my wife's clothes, whew!! The three big suitcases fit under the bed. We had a flat screen TV. Bed could use a little more support, sagged in the4 middle. Great room location near elevator mid ship...very convenient.

Please respect that this is a MODERATED community for people who absolutely LOVE cruise travel or want to learn about cruise travel.

Registration to Cruise Critic's Cruise Community is free! We require that you use a valid e-mail address. You will receive an e-mail asking you to verify your e-mail address before you are allowed to login and post on the boards. Again, please disable your spamblocking or verification software so that you receive our activation e-mail. Also, as a member of Cruise Critic you will receive copies of our weekly newsletter plus our "Cruise Sails" and one "Member Offer" mailing. Should you not want to continue to receive these e-mailings, simply unsubscribe by following the directions in the newsletter. By agreeing to become a member, you are agreeing to receipt of our newsletters.

Additionally, we do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed at this link: Community Guidelines.

This is a moderated Community. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions of this Web site and do not wish to be bound by them, please do not use this Web site or continue the registration process. Cruise Critic reserves the right to remove any content in its sole discretion. Additionally, if you violate our Community Guidelines you may lose your posting privileges -- permanently -- without warning. By continuing the registration you are agreeing to the terms

These are moderated message boards. What this means is that we do our best to remove all objectionable messages from the boards. It also means that you cannot say whatever you'd like on the forums. If you are looking for an "anything goes" setting, Cruise Critic might not be the place for you. Understand, too, that our community is comprised of folks who LOVE to cruise. It therefore stands to reason that they will have a favorite cruise line or port of call -- in other words, they are "fans" and will sometimes take offense when a brand new member has arrived on the scene to bash a cruise line.

Keep in mind that we do not prescreen posts so there may be a period of time when an inappropriate post is visible. Please use the Report A Post icon located in the UPPER right hand corner of each posting if you wish to report a violation of our Community Guidelines. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of Cruise Critic Message Board Forums, nor Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.

By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-orientated, hateful, threatening, are in violation of our Community Guidelines or otherwise violative of any laws.

Cruise Critic reserves to right to remove, edit, move or close any thread (discussion) for any reason from the forums without warning. or notification to the Community. Additionally, we also reserve the right to deny posting privileges to any member at our sole discretion.

You hereby grant Cruise Critic the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display any message posted in our message board community (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or later developed.

Our mission is to provide a haven on the Internet free of harassment and advertising for our community members' enjoyment. Any company or person(s) that interfere with that mission risk losing their posting privileges.

If you have any questions about how our community is moderated, please address them to our Community Manager via e-mail at community@cruisecritic.com. Please do not post on the boards.